The Paint Spot Newsletter September 2015

Looks like I hit the nail on the head as far as my opinion of Donald Trump, common sense allows you to do that! Even my comparison with Ronald Reagan has now been tossed around by several political figures. Mr. Trump knows both sides of the political isle, finances his own campaign, knows that politicians can and do, get “bought”, he refuses to be bought, speaks from the heart (no prepared speeches), has no use for political correctness, speaks in “absolutes”, understands business “globally”, is hell bent about bringing industry back to America, has a definite plan for illegal immigration, has a plan for Islamic terrorism, and understands “the American dream” intimately! He’s definitely got my vote if he’s still a viable candidate come election time. At this stage of the game however, he has already shaken up status quo and set the agenda for what will come. Hopefully, the next administration will include: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina, and Ted Cruz at the very minimum

I attended our third meeting in Dallas Texas 8/20/15. For those of you who aren’t aware of the content or purpose of these meetings, I’ll briefly explain.

The purpose of these meetings are purely educational, and are meant to bring attention to the full capabilities of a “complete” Matrix system. It has been discovered that not everyone who is entrusted with distributing the Matrix brand actually knows the line. What started off primarily aimed at the jobber, quickly started including the warehouse distributor, as it became immediately obvious that they needed to know more about what they had access to.

As I have stated in earlier issues of this newsletter, I suspected for several years that one of the biggest reasons for “less than record breaking sales” was due to those responsible for sales, not knowing the product line. This point was proven within minutes of our first meeting, and the example used was the “FX” series.

Brian Lynch and Ernesto Vasquez are responsible for bringing these unprecedented meetings to reality, and I attend to offer technical “hands on” support of all the lines, as well as real time feed back on where, when, why, and how to. I also represent, by proxy, the “end user”, in that I am the only one who actually uses the complete Matrix system.

Now, I used the word “unprecedented” above because to my knowledge, this has never been done by any company. Think about it, instead of thinking that everybody from manufacturer to end user has all they need to cruise comfortably to profit, these guys had to actually grapple with the fact that in every position from one end to the other there might be paid personnel that weren’t really doing their jobs as good as they were getting paid for! Although a good amount of the lack of education with respect to Matrix, has come from “the early days”, in which Matrix was dished out to almost anyone for any reason (me included), how long can a current employee, jobber, or W.D. continue to use that as an excuse? Kinda sounds like that idiot Obama blaming George Bush for his dumb ass decisions….LOL!

So now that Brian and Ernesto (both part of the newer regime) have stepped up to at least give this a shot, they have my full respect, as well as everyone that has attended! “Better late than never”.

To achieve our goal of complete education we are using the “Accushade” data base rather than randomly skipping around from product to product. In doing so, several things have been noticed. I will get to these individual issues at some point in the future, but for right now, I’d like to focus on the number one issue……”Selling products solely based on price”!

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have so much of a problem with the low price thing, even though one of my most favorite quotes is “Who wants to be the low cost paint provider”. That’s because I am a true believer in the “3 for 3″ rule……”Price”, “Quality”, & “Service”. One without the other, or even two out of three just isn’t acceptable anymore……especially when you’re representing not only the finest paint in the world, but the most cost effective as well!

In every meeting to date, at some point or another, and with each product we’ve covered, someone has mentioned price. Because of this, I am convinced that given the product education (when, where, why, and how) this “lowest price” corner that they’ve let themselves get pushed into, will disappear! I can say this because I’ve spoken to them and know beyond doubt that they don’t know the “When, Where, Why, and How”. Furthermore, when all you have to sell is the lowest price, you aren’t selling anything……except yourself, right down the drain!

Realize this; if you think you need to have the cheapest primers, paints, materials, and clears, what does that say about your customer base? What does that say about your store?

All you’ve done at that point is become your worst nightmare! You will have addressed only one of the three…..”Price”. Because of this, you will have thrown “Quality” by the wayside. Furthermore, what “Service” have you provided? You will have become nothing more than a satellite “El Cheapo” distribution outlet, and guess what……..you’re “out gunned”, the internet is full of them already!

You’ll no doubt attract a lot of response, and if you’re lucky it’ll be before you go out of business!

For those of you that attended this latest meeting you’ll remember me addressing this issue. At that time I asked two things.

#2: Did you go through a question and answer session to find what they really needed?

From this point on I will go through the “Q & A” as if you readers were a customer. In doing so, I want ya’ll to know that I don’t profess to have all the answers. I am merely wanting to share 38 years of hands on body and paint experience in the hope that it gives you a solution you can count on. The following is my “not so secret” secret, and is precisely what has taken The Paint Spot from nothing to something. For more extensive explanations either ask me personally at our next meeting, E-mail me at rcpaintspot@gmail.com, call me at (830)358-6121, call Brian Lynch at (330)413-5667, or call Ernesto Vasquez at (330)844-2398. You can also refer to archived material (newsletters) on our website www.thepaintspot.biz.

A typical walk in customer will either start by asking a question or stating what they think they want. Regardless, I ask them what type of project they are working on, and what their expectations are.

Based on their answer, I will recommend a product or method of getting down to the substrate. (there are lots of ways, but our job is to help find the most appropriate for that customer). Note: If they already have some materials, determine whether or not they will work. If they will, tell them so and forgo the opportunism. A “short sale” here will reward you later. If the materials won’t work, expect to explain why!

I will then ask them how long they want the outcome to last. This has everything to do with what you will provide them with! At this point, most walk in customers will say they want it to last along time, but they don’t want to spend a lot to get there. My response at that point is: Listen, this is like building a multi million dollar mansion on swamp land! No matter how much money you pour into the appearance, it’s only as good as the “foundation”! If you don’t have enough money to do the entire project properly, then do the foundation, save your money, and continue on when money allows!

I then explain the procedure: If the substrate is metal, I tell them to coat the entire surface with MP-200, guide coat with black lacquer (not that powdered bullshit), wait till the next day, scratch the low spots (80 grit), and do your body work on top of the MP-200 (absolutely NOT on the bare metal). After body work you’re ready for a “primer surfacer”. If the body is wavy I recommend MP3-HS (must be mixed 4:1:1), guide coat, and block with 150 dry. If the surface is relatively straight, the only scratch needing primer will be a 150 scratch. For this I would recommend a lesser build primer surfacer (RSP-160, MP-2kgr, or MP2Kpb), guide coat, wet sand with 600, and you’re ready for paint (I NEVER recommend a “sealer” unless there is exposed filler of substrate. If there is, I recommend MP-210)

If the substrate is fiberglass: I tell them to coat the surface with “Polyester primer” (I recommend “Roberlo A-80 sprayable gun putty”), guide coat with black lacquer, wait till the next day, scratch low spots, and do the body work on top.

Note: If it is a boat and the subject area is below the water line, I recommend “Vinyl Ester” primer (will work above water line also, but absolutely has to be below). I DO NOT recommend “Gel Coat”!

Now, if after the Polyester primer, and any filler work is blocked with 150 dry, it is conceivable that you could have enough material still left to re-guide coat and block with 320. If this turns out to be the case, I recommend sealing with MP-210 and painting. If more priming is necessary, I would recommend the appropriate “Urethane” primer surfacer.

NOTE: YOU CANNOT PAINT DIRECTLY OVER POLYESTER! (Hence, my concern with polyester base coats vs. acrylic urethane)

Explanation: Epoxy primer and / or epoxy primer with self etch under it will chalk up and rust if the substrate is exposed to the elements prior to top coating. With the scenario above (do the foundation right and do the rest when money allows) epoxy can and will fail. The MP-200 WILL NOT!

Note: Every time I talk about this subject, I get negative feedback from someone. The facts are the facts, and I am no stranger to epoxy primer. We have been painting cars in south Texas for 20+ years, and I have seen the epoxy failures, and had to warranty the damage. Since the inception of “MP-1000″ (MP-200′s predecessor) several years ago, there’s been ZERO failures!

EXCEPTION: Fleet work! Our fleet customers often use epoxy primers as the “first down” over raw substrate. Footnote: The epoxy primer used is “Northstar EP-210″ which is a 1:1 mix (unlike the common 4:1′s we use).

Wow, in doing this Q&A thing, it’s getting pretty involved. Since I don’t want to miss anything, I think we need to do it in stages (I also like to keep this newsletter to 4 pgs).

Primer over raw… aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, chrome, plastics, fiberglass, (I’ve even put it on glass) = MP-200 (A “real” direct to metal)

Primer over…..wavy or damaged fiberglass, wood, (or to encapsulate a crappy existing paint job that the customer refuses to do right) = Polyester Primer Primer over raw substrate (Fleet)… Northstar EP-210 (mixed up to 1:1:1 as a sealer) OR MP-210 (sealer) MP-200 (primer)

MP-2Kgr (grey in color, medium build. Great for leveling out an already somewhat straight panel)

MP-2Kpb (buff in color, medium build. Excellent when a different color primer is needed. Great for leveling out a somewhat straight panel.)

RSP-160 (Refinish solutions version of a medium build primer. Very cost effective.)

As you can see there are several choices (and this isn’t all) . For this reason, there are several questions necessary to determine the customers specific needs. If you aren’t asking them, then the customer isn’t answering them, and if that’s the case……nobody’s learning anything!

Start with what I’ve outlined here, as it is an appropriate place to start…..the “foundation”. This alone will start moving you out of the “cheap zone”, and propel you into the “Quality Zone”. In doing so, the “Service Zone” will happen automatically!

Next month we will pick up where we left off…..”Paint”. That will be rather extensive because I’m going to attempt to deal with several levels. When I do, I’m going to prove without any doubt, that the lower level choices are anything BUT cheap. I will also show you where selling lower level paint is actually costing you customers!

If any of you do not fully understand what I’ve written here, or if you feel I’ve left something out, or want my thoughts on something not yet covered, call me! Good Luck!

<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> 10.2013-Cutting and Buffing,Color Class, Matrix vs PPG, New location Matrix MPB-LV Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.